A Melody of Death and Peace
by Glimmers
Summary: Between a demanding boss and potentially insane coworkers, Mai isn't sure how she survives week to week at SPR, But she figures the look on the faces of those they help make it worth her while. Naru x Mai, possible side pairings. Continuation of the Anime.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

**Title:** A Melody of Death and Peace

**Summary:** Between a demanding boss and potentially insane coworkers, Mai isn't sure how she survives week to week at SPR, But she figures the look on the faces of those they help make it worth her while. Naru x Mai, possible side pairings. Continuation of the Anime.

**Rating:** T

**Case One**

**The Rose House**

_**Part One**_

_June_

_Day One_

Despite being highly aware of the fact that they were here to hunt ghosts, not relax and rewind, Mai couldn't help but grin with excitement when she saw where they would be staying for the next few days. _Honestly, Naru should demand a free vacation stay as part of his payment_ she thought to herself, looking around the serene hill-top

All around, far beyond the horizon, were trees, in the deepest shades of green. The ground beneath their feet was lush with healthy grass, and Mai could hear a crystal-clear stream trickling along, no doubt leading to the pond behind the inn. Flowers were everywhere, all roses, in every color imaginable. Vivid reds, light pinks, vibrant yellows, delicate violet, sultry burgundy, luminous white, and cheerful peach... their sweet scent filled the air, and the gently blowing breeze brought it straight to the visitors.

The inn looked like an overgrown cottage. The long walls were part log, part smooth stone, with small rounded windows that were the homes of flower pots over growing with roses. The roof was made of gray shingles and dark beams. The whole place seemed like someplace a princess might live, or where fairies might flutter by at any moment.

She traveled up the light stone path that lead to the front door of the inn, a few steps behind Lin and her boss. She was glad he had taken this case, if it brought her here, she just couldn't get over the beauty. She remembered only distantly that hearing about this case scared her...

_Mai sat beside the client on the couch; an old man, whose face was creased with laugh lines, though he looked terrified._

"_Normally I would wait until tourist season died down to bring these claims to you, but I have decided not to risk delaying that long and have closed down my Inn for some time. You see, my son had to go overseas to deal with her soon to be ex-wife's finances, and my two granddaughters are coming to stay with me... they are both at the same age as all of the targeted guests so far."_

"_What do you mean?" Naru asked, giving him an unflinching look. Mai thought he ought to have more sympathy for these people; not everyone was used to ghosts!_

"_Since my Inn is a family place, many teenage girls come to stay there. They have been the one's reporting most of the occurrences, though many guests have experienced them."_

"_What sort of occurrences?"_

"_Many girls report seeing creepy images in the mirrors, or distorted reflections in windows or the pond. Other girls claim they feel a chill, or have items moved or displaced. A few girls report fresh fruit turning rotten in their hands, suffocation, or searing pain int their skull. And some... some claim to hear the roses whispering to them. Telling them to escape into the forest."_

"_Has anyone done so?"_

_The man, Inoue Hiraku, paused, then said in a slow, pained voice, "One girl... her parents found her by the pond in the morning, she was alive, but there was dirt in her hair and under her nails and she was covered in scratches, mumbling about roses."_

_Mai shuddered. Any case that targeted girls her age scared her, but the man looked so sad she hope Naru accepted the case anyways._

_In a quick, two-word sentence, he did._

That had been a few days ago, by now, they were assembling the whole team here.

The door to the inn opened and a girl, perhaps a bit older than Mai, stepped out. She was obnoxiously pretty; she had light brown hair, the top layer of which was held back by a silky red bow. Her eyes were large and blue- possibly from her European mother- and her lips had a natural redness to them. In her simple white blouse, and high-waisted, knee-length skirt of the same color as her bow, she looked every bit the girl who would live in this enchanting place. She was smiling warmly at them.

"Are you three from Shibuya Psychic Research?" she asked, walking towards them.

"Yes. I am Shibuya Kazuya, and these are my assistants." Mai and Lin introduced themselves and the girl grinned at them.

"Thank you so much for coming! I'm Inoue Sachiko, my grandfather is the one who called you. Come, I'll show you in."

She led the way inside, which was just as charming as the outside had been. The walls had the same makeup as the outside; the floors were wooden, and Lin had to stoop a little to handle the low ceilings. The light wood floors were covered by carpets, and comfortable armchairs were abound. Bookshelves that held actual _books_, not just volumes of old dictionaries, were everywhere. The whole place felt like the home of a sweet old lady.

As they walked down the narrows hallways to the base, Naru gave Mai a hard glance and then subtly nodded to Sachiko. She stifled a sigh; at least he was no longer hiding the fact that he was manipulating her natural kindness.

"Um, Inoue-_San?" _she asked. The girl laughed.

"Please, call me Sa-_Chan_. I only just returned from France, so all of these honorifics still feel a little strange, to be honest. I'd rather work with what I know."

"So you lived there for most of your life?"

"Mm-hm. I've actually only been to a few Japanese cities. I spend most of my time in the country here, so it's a little secluded."

"And have you noticed anything when you came here before?" Mai prompted. This girl was like an open book, calling out to be read.

"Nothing as severe as the stuff that's been happening lately..." she paused in front of a doorway, her hand resting on the handle, her face suddenly a bit sad, "I really love this place, though. My sister says that it clouds my sight of the things happening... but then, she's always being paranoid, so who knows if it really happened much before?" she pushed open the door. "Here's the room that we thought would best fit your needs. It's my father's study, but he's in France now so it will be free for a couple of weeks."

"We hope to solve the problem long before then," Naru said, as stoic as ever, and walked in.

He observed the room; it had only one window, mostly obscured by a patch of violet roses so you could barely see the pond, but the fake candles in the old-fashioned lights gave the room a pleasant, warm glow. The walls were wooden, and the floor had a dark blue carpet. As well as a sturdy desk and chair by the window, there were two plush, leather couches facing each other and a glass coffee table between them.

"The bathroom in two doors to your left. The kitchen is back through the lobby, and I can show you to your rooms later. We're going to serve dinner at seven, if that's all right with you?"

"It is fine. Thank you. Is there a floor-plan here?"

"I left the blueprints on daddy's desk. If you need anything else, just call!"

with that, she departed, and the Ghost Hunters went to unpack.

By five, the whole base was ready. Takigawa and Ayako had shown up, and John, Yasuhara and Masako were expected within the hour. Sachiko had stopped by again to remind them how to get to the dinning room, flushed and bashful about forgetting earlier. She quickly warmed up to the new arrivals, however, and Mai began to like the girl. She seemed sweet, and it was obvious she really cared for this place. And Mai didn't have to worry about her catching Naru's eye; the girl seemed entirely uninterested. If anything, Mai thought she caught her smiling at _Lin_. The poor girl was in for a world of heartbreak, if that was the case.

"Say, you don't think that girl has anything to do with this, do you?" Ayako asked, staring after her.

"She said she loves this place, so why would she do anything to harm it?" Mai asked.

"I doubt we can jump to any conclusions, we only just got here," Takigawa said, "Let's wait until after dinner and then start work, hey?" he suggested the last bit after planting his elbow on Mai's head, as if she were an arm rest.

"Shove off, old man," she muttered, pushing his elbow away.

"Who you calling old?"

"Who else but you?"

"Stay out of this, _priestess_!"

It was the scene that exploded after this that Masako walked in on, somehow looking both stoic and condescending.

"Masako, hi," Mai greeted. She received a small smile in return. Ever since their shared near-death experience in the case with Vlad, they had been _somewhat_ better friends, so long as a certain black-clad boss didn't turn up.

"There is a strong spirit here, but it is hiding its presence," she said. _Right down to business, that one_. "I can't tell much but it is rather... _upset_."

Naru nodded in acknowledgment. He then turned to Mai. "I assume you haven't sensed anything?"

She blushed. _He knows most of my abilities happen when I'm sleeping_, she thought, and shook her head. "Maybe after I nap..." she joked lightly.

Finally, Yasuhara and John showed up. After quick greetings, Naru briefed them on the case.

"Whatever this ghost is, it is targeting young girls."

"Could it be a perverted old man?" the monk asked. Ayako elbowed him in the gut.

"I don't think a pervert would mess with mirrors or Roses..." Yasuhara said, "They tend to be more interested in _other_ types of... flowers." Yasuhara was lucky- he dodged both Ayako and Mai's elbows.

A soft knock came from the door, and Sachiko opened it tentatively.

"Dinner is ready, if you'd like it..."

+o+

The past few months had been strangely normal, for ghost hunters. A few poltergeists, one or two site-bound spirits, and one curse. Mai's visions hadn't been quite as vivid and were growing few and far between, but she had been practicing on honing in on them. That, of course, had lead to her noticing that there was something off about the Naru in her dreams, and she didn't really want to delve into that just yet, especially when her feelings about the real Naru were so confused.

In regards to that relationship, little had changed. He still treated her like an idiot and she still spent so much time angry at him she didn't know how she could love him. They had a delicate balance. Once he realized he had upset her to many times, he would give one of those award-winning smiles or rare compliments, keeping her right where she was, at his beck and call, making tea.

She found, however, that she and Lin managed to somehow forge a delicate friendship. They were by no means sharing their secrets and gossiping together, but he was civil, and for him, that might as well have been the ultimate sign of friendship.

Mai found herself thinking of how far things had come with those two whenever she was stating a new case, and as she walked down the hall to dinner, it was no different, until she heard the fighting.

One voice undoubtedly belonged to Sachiko. The other was similar, but a bit deeper and more gravely.

"Tsubaki, you can't just run around pulling stunts like this!"

"It's for the best! Why would Grandfather hire _him_ when he knows full well-"

"Be that as it may, you have no right too-"

they stopped when the party walked in.

Sachiko turned and quickly bowed.

Tsubaki, the other girl, did nothing. She was undoubtedly Sachiko's sister. Her hair was darker, but she had the same face, if, somehow, more stunning. It was marred, however, by a deep scowl, acne, and clearly uncared for skin. Despite this, her beauty shone through.

"Mai-_chan_," Sachiko said, "I apologize on behalf of my sister-"

"Don't do anything for me—"

"What's going on here?" Bou-san asked.

Sachiko, after giving her sister a sharp glare, turned to Mai.

"My sister was worried for your safety, because of your age being the same as the victims and all... and she took it into her own hands to do something awful and-"

"Cut the excuses, just tell us!" Ayako snapped. She had moved over to Mai and placed a hand on her shoulder protectively.

"No need to be rude to _her_," John gently reminded her, looking embarrassed.

"Tsubaki?" Sachiko prompted her sister.

"Whatever, you'll be thanking me for my efforts soon enough!" she then turned on her heel and stormed off.

"Erm, excuse me-"

Sachiko sighed.

"My sister, to discourage you from staying, dumped the bag containing your clothing into the stew-vat."

"What?!"

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know until I came to check on the food-"

"That, Mai, is why I'm always telling you to pack more! Bigger bags are harder to dump!" Ayako tolled her. Masako _hmphd_ in agreement.

"Is she meant to ware the same clothing everyday? This may take a while, you may begin to stink" Yasuhara chimed in, looking between the two girls apologetically.

"Well thanks a lot..."

"I sent the clothing to the washers, but they're a bit backed up. A lot of people left in a hurry and didn't pick up their things..."

"If I thought any of my clothing would fit you, or that you could walk in them, I would loan you my own items." Masako made her excuse before anyone had a chance to ask. _What a girl_, Mai thought. She looked to Naru and Lin to gauge their reactions. As always, they were twin masks of stoicism.

"If you don't mind, I have some clothing here from a little while back. It's a little small on me, so it should fit you alright..." Sachiko offered. "Why don't we go look while the cook re-makes the stew?"

Mai didn't have to look at Naru to know he was encouraging this course of action. So, feeling bewildered and guilty and relieved all at once, Mai followed the girl out of the room.

+o+

"So, is your sister always like that?" Mai asked, as delicately as she could. Sachiko was rotting through her wardrobe, doing her best to find nice things that would fit Mai.

"She didn't _used_ to be, but..." Sachiko turned around and lay an armful of clothing on the bed. Then she sighed. "We used to be close. We would always go shopping and buy makeup and spend hours in department stores and salons. It was out thing, because we both loved fashion and makeup. But last summer, we came to visit, and she... well, she changed."

"How so?" Mai asked, scooting over so that the girl could sit beside her.

"Well, she started to complain about the place. She never liked it much, but she began to really hate it here. And she stopped using any makeup, which wasn't so bad, but she also stopped using fancy skincare- she wouldn't even wash her face. She got very grumpy and bitter and spent all of her time in the woods... I'm sorry, I must be boring you."

"Not at all."

Sachiko stood and shook her head. "No, really, I shouldn't be... anyhow, will these work?"

Mai examined the clothing. A deep green summer dress with cap sleeves, a pair of cut-off jean shorts, a black overall dress with buttons up the front, and two soft shirts, each with three-quarter sleeves, one black and one white. Along with these was a set of blue pajamas, a few of undergarments, and some thick sweaters. None of the items were quite her taste, but they were pretty and, most importantly, not covered in stew."

"They're all lovely. Thank you so much."

"It's the least I could do. I _am_ sorry."

Mai turned to leave, but Sachiko stopped her.

"I know she seems awful, But I think Tsubaki was trying to help, in her own way..."

"I'm sure she was."

"No, really! I mean, she isn't very friendly, but she's not... I mean, I think she's really suffering, and once this all is resolved, I'm hoping she might get better."

Mai felt a rush of sympathy for the girl. It was easy to forget that before she was part of this mystery, she was a human being with her own life.

"Anyway, I hope the clothing works for you!" she brushed past Mai and towards the dinning hall, and Mai wandered to her room (147, down the hall, as Sachiko instructed) to drop her things off. Fortunately, her toiletries and equipment had been in another pack. When she got to the room, she was oddly glad to notice there was no mirror or window. This place, so magical hours before, was starting to creep her out.

**So that was the first Chapter, Please, _please_ review and tell me what you think!**


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